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Call for submission 2016

ISSTA International Festival and Conference on Sound in the Arts, Science and Technology (Call Closed)

September 7th-9th 2016

Temporary Autonomous Zones 2016

One of the reasons we value sound as a perceptual and phenomenological event is that it allows for the creation of new types of sensory engagement with space. Creative processes of sounding allow us to design different types of sound worlds; places which can become autonomous zones. Lefebvre, in his seminal text The Production of Space, alludes to the concept of autonomous zones or imagined spaces; places which are imagined and created by community.

The idea of how we create and respond to autonomous zones is the subject of this year’s ISSTA festival as it comes to Northern Ireland for the first time, fostering a range of artistic, technological and academic interventions in Derry/Londonderry entitled Temporary Autonomous Zones 2016. A Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ), as defined by the poet and anarchist cultural theorist Hakim Bey, is more than just a distinct space; it is a space in control of itself, in that it does not recognise outside authority.

Bey suggests that a festival or event has the potential to act as a moment of intense uprising and creative disruption, which allows for the creation of a TAZ, a guerrilla moment of positive revolutionary acts and art. In our present period of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, mass movements of people across territories are coinciding with the beginnings of exclusionary zones in Europe. It is in this context that this year’s ISSTA festival seeks to create a series of Temporary Autonomous Zones–new unmapped and self-determining sonic, conceptual and social spaces–which assert, for a time, their independence from existing structures through discussions of creative and technological practices and research, and through the artistic works themselves.

We look forward to inviting artists, scholars, technologists and other practitioners to Derry/Londonderry to investigate and play with some of these questions. From the historic autonomous zones of the 17th–century walled city of Londonderry to the autonomous commune of Free Derry (1969–72) to the highs, lows and contradictions of becoming the first UK City of Culture and even to its contested name and identity, we hope that Derry/Londonderry will offer a stimulating context for sharing participants’ work and ideas.

This year, we are seeking works of art, research papers, performances, compositions and workshops that engage with the concept of autonomous zones and the social spaces of sound and technology:

We hope that designers and technologists will take advantage of the temporary autonomous zones of our interdisciplinary conference to engage with more ‘blue sky’, speculative or conceptual aspects of their work.

We hope that artists, cultural researchers and thinkers will find inspiration from these various perspectives on space as defined, expressed and contested through sound, technology and culture.

We will be working in the city of Derry/Londonderry, a space traditionally defined by zones of ethno–religious and political difference, spaces that are mapped, marked and articulated by performances of difference, but also by creative communities. We are therefore particularly open to the idea of collaborative projects which have a community outreach aspect to them.

We propose to take the approach of the TAZ guerrilla ontologist: making a mark, a difference, without violence!

Artists are encouraged to submit proposals for site-specific work involving Derry/Londonderry as urban environment, (we will be circulating more information about the environs). We will also have partnerships with local galleries and may also provide for situating pieces at various sites in the city in consultation with artists. Supplementary details will be made available on some of the sites and spaces.

The call is open to all practitioners regardless of nationality. Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation.

Call for Music

This category is reserved for compositions or performances intended for a concert hall paradigm. The musical work must include science or technology in some way. Examples of acceptable submissions include but are not limited to:

Circuit Bending

Computer Music

DJ/Scratch Music

Electroacoustic Composition – fixed-medium or real-time

Laptop Performance

Mixed Composition for electronics and performers

Noise Music

The selected works will be performed in a series of concerts during the conference. If a work requires performers, the submitters must provide them. We cannot provide performers/artists fees at this time. The composer must register and attend for the piece to be performed. The conference will also host workshops, paper and poster sessions and curate sound art/installations. Works straddling domains may be submitted to multiple calls but will be scheduled with the successful submission category.

Successful works will also be published on the ISSTA website, issta.ie.

Pieces should be no longer than 12 minutes.

To submit:

1-page Programme Notes along with any technical requirements.

A link to downloadable stereo mix of work via Soundcloud or Vimeo. Multi-channel works are acceptable, but submission must be a stereo mix.

Call for Sound Art/Installations

This category is reserved for works within the Gallery or Site-Specific paradigm. The work must include science or technology in some way. Examples of acceptable submissions include but are not limited to:

Interactive Sound Art

Site-specific Sound Art

Sound Art Installation

The selected works will be installed in locations around the conference. If a work requires performers or special technology, the submitters must provide them. Artists are encouraged to submit proposals for site-specific work involving Derry/Londonderry as city. We will also have partnerships with local galleries. More information will be provided as we receive it. We cannot provide performer/artist fees at this time. Artists must register and attend for works to be included. The conference will also host workshops, paper and poster sessions and musical concerts. Pieces straddling domains may be submitted to multiple calls but will be scheduled with the successful submission category.

A representation of successful works will be published on the ISSTA website, issta.ie.

To submit:

1- to 3-page document with a description of the work. Description must include space and technical requirements. IMPORTANT: Please be clear what technical requirements you can provide. Not all equipment may be available, so the more you can provide, the better.

Call for Posters/Papers

This category is reserved for papers or posters exhibiting current research in any domain involving sound with science or technology. Examples of acceptable submissions include but are not limited to:

Acoustic Ecology

Acoustics

Circuit Bending

Computational Musicology

Computer Music

Digital Audio and Digital Signal Processing

DJ Practice

Electroacoustic Music

History of Sound, Science and Technology

Interfaces for Music or Sound

Laptop Music

Live Electronics

Live Sound Reinforcement

Music Perception

Music Recording and Production

Music/Audio software

Noise Music

Psychoacoustics

Recording Engineering

Sound Art

Soundscape Art/Studies

Sound Diffusion and Spatialization

Sound Engineering

Sound Synthesis and Design

Sound, Science and Technology Education/Pedagogy

The selected papers will be presented in a series of presentations during the conference. Posters will be on display. Authors must register and attend for papers/posters to be presented. The conference will also host workshops, musical concerts and curate sound art/installations. Pieces straddling domains may be submitted to multiple calls but will be scheduled with the successful submission category.

Selected papers and posters will be published on the ISSTA website, issta.ie.

Call for Workshops

This category is reserved for workshops pertaining to current activity in any domain involving sound with science or technology. Examples of acceptable submissions include but are not limited to:

Circuit Bending

Design

DIY

Hacking

Open Source

Performance

Post-graduate/Student work

The selected workshops will be offered at various venues in Derry/Londonderry city. Workshop leaders must register and attend to be included. Workshop fees cannot be provided, but equipment costs may be budgeted with advance notice. The conference will also host poster & paper sessions, musical concerts and curate sound art/installations. Pieces straddling domains may be submitted to multiple calls but will be scheduled with the successful submission category.

Note; Some outreach/public workshops will be supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation.